Michael Saunders, Entrepreneur-in-Residence

In 1997 at the University of Pennsylvania, Michael Saunders noticed a need in the college population: students wanted to order food delivery online. He created CampusFood.com for students to order from local restaurants and have it delivered to them on campus. Fast forward almost 20 years later and CampusFood.com has merged with GrubHub and Seamless to become one of the most popular food delivery services in the country.Now, as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at The Garage, Michael works on his own projects while also serving as a mentor and resource for student entrepreneurs. His experience creating CampusFood.com while still being a college student gives him a lot of insight into the experience of student entrepreneurs at The Garage. Here are his 3 key points of advice for those looking to start their own companies:

1. Talk to as many people as you can. Being in college can really limit your perspective of the implications of your idea, so talking to more people can really broaden your perspective. And be willing to talk to people, instead of being protective of your idea.
2. Identify realistic “next-step” goals. Don’t focus entirely on the end result; instead, make interim goals that are feasible to accomplish.
3. Identify people’s pain points and figure out how to alleviate them, because that’s what gets people excited and wanting to use your product or service.

Interested in speaking with Michael about your idea? Sign up for his Office Hours.